Air Shows & Events

We spent our first day at the 39th annual Sun ‘n Fun Fly-In kicking tires and checking out new offerings from the show’s many exhibitors. –>–> This image gallery requires JavaScript. This Mustang II displays its folding wing capability. [ original size ] If you’re in to flying for the fun of it then check […]

When you think of Brazil and airplanes, you automatically think of Embraer, but that aerospace giant isn’t the only player in the South American market. A number of smaller companies ply the aircraft trade and a couple of them are represented this week at Sun ‘n Fun by a trade delegation from the Brazilian state […]

Airline Transport Professionals flight school has agreed to buy 15 Archer TX single-engine airplanes from Piper Aircraft, with options for up to 85 more, the companies announced Wednesday at Sun ‘n Fun. These will be the first single-engine Pipers in ATP’s fleet as the school transitions to predominantly Piper training aircraft. All of the new […]

Diamond Aircraft is showing its latest model, the DA40 XLT, with an all-new interior, at the Sun ‘n Fun show in Lakeland, Fla., this week. The upgrade is the first major overhaul to the interior in over eight years, company spokesman Jeff Owen said in a news conference Wednesday morning. The changes include deluxe leather […]

SocialFlight, a free mobile app that aims to bring pilots together by providing an easy source of information about aviation events, has grown to 15,000 users since its launch just nine months ago, founder Jeff Simon said at Sun ‘n Fun on Tuesday. The app has also evolved to version 3.0. “We’re adding 1,000 users […]

With a fundamental review of the FAA’s Part 23 aircraft-certification regulations in the works, Flight Design’s management team said on Tuesday they will extend the development timeline of their C4 four-place certified aircraft to take advantage of the expected changes. Flight Design’s revised schedule expects first flight of the proof-of-concept airplane about a year from […]

Piper Aircraft has sold 35 single-engine and twin-engine training aircraft to CAE, which will add the airplanes to the Oxford Aviation Academy fleets in Phoenix, Ariz., and Oxford, U.K., the companies announced Tuesday at Sun ‘n Fun. The agreement includes firm orders for 22 single-engine Archer TX training airplanes and 13 twin-engine trainers, as well […]

Sagetech, a company little known among general aviation pilots, has introduced a new portable ADS-B box at Sun ‘n Fun that combines weather, traffic and a compact, sophisticated AHRS with synthetic vision. If it sounds like this gadget can turn your iPad into a basic EFIS, that’s exactly what it does, according to Sagetech. Measuring […]

As yet more portable ADS-B products hit the market, Sporty’s Pilot Shop is out today with a second generation of its hot-selling Stratus. The new device is being produced in a partnership between Sporty’s, ForeFlight and Appareo, which developed the hardware. Like the Clarity, it will feature dual-band traffic and an AHRS to be displayed […]

Every airshow, no matter where or when, has its share of challenges, and hopefully its share of good luck, too, and this year’s edition of Sun ‘n Fun, in Lakeland, Fla., seems to have plenty of both. No military jet team will appear to split the sky with a pure booming roar, thanks to the […]